Okonomiyaki!
A japanese invention, created as an imagining of Western food, as anything with a lot of flour was considered "Western." It's usually a snack sold by street vendors, similar to American hot dog stands.Fairly easy to make and delicious, it is hard to find in America. For this reason, I've decided to post my Americanized version."Yaki" means "grilled" and the "Okonomi" means "as you like it." It got it's name for being very customizable.
Okonomiyaki has be come one of my favourite foods. While this is the general recipe I use, you can substitute most any meats and vegetables to taste. If you're curious about whether you can substitute something, try translating your question to English. "Can I put chicken and celery in grilled-as-you-like-it?" You will need two spatulas for this dish.
Ingredients:
3-4 Tablespoons of Flour
3-4 Strips of Bacon
1 egg
2-3 Tablespoons of water (I use 3 in a high altitude environment.)
1 1/2 cup of Napa Cabbage
A couple sticks of imitation crab or 6-8 Shrimps
2-3 Green Onions
1-2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1 Clove of Garlic
Optional:
Soba noodles.
Okonomiyaki Sauce Ingredients:
(Note: I highly recommend making your own, it's easy and tasty and buying it in a bottle is pretty unnecessary)
3 Tablespoons of Ketchup or Barbecue sauce (I use Ketchup)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce.
1 Teaspoon of Soy Sauce
Optional Toppings:
Mayonaisse
Aonori (Green seaweed)
Pickled Ginger
katsuobushi
Let's start by frying the bacon, I eventually decided to add another for four total strips before mixing them in.
While the bacon is frying, you can add the water, flour, baking soda and egg
Mix until you have a nice pancake batter.
When the bacon is done, you can dry it on a paper towel.
Then cut them into strips and add them to the batter.
Finely dice the garlic and add to the mix.
Next we will add the Green Onions
Dice these into small rings and add them to the batter as well.
Cut the Krab (Imitation crab) into small chunks.
Next to tackle is the Napa cabbage. About one or one and a half leaves, maybe 2 depending on the size.
I like to use squares about the size of the bacon strips.
Bring some water to a boil.
Add a small handful of Soba noodles for about 4 minutes.
Drain and add them to the mix.
Now is about time to mix these together, mix very thoroughly!
Now it is ready to cook! Heat up a large non-stick frying pan to medium-high heat, and spread about a tablespoon of vegetable oil on when it is hot.
Make sure the pan is hot before you add the batter, Always make sure the pan is hot before you add anything. Have you ever heard a chef say to add something to a cold pan, and slowly heat it up to the cooking temperature?
Pile it up in a mountain in the middle:
Spread it out so it is evenly distributed at an inch or a little taller.
It will bubble on the outside, one way to tell when this side is done is to wait for the middle to bubble before turning it over, I usually turn it at about 4 minutes.
One neat trick is to rotate it at about 2 minutes, or once every minute, this will ensure it is evenly cooked.
After about four minutes, it will be time to flip it over, while this side is cooking, I tend to start the sauce, to ensure it is done by the time the okonomiyaki is.
For the sauce, you simply add the ingredients and mix until you get a nice consistency, While it is composed of Ketchup, Worcestershire and soy, it really has a unique flavour, and retains Ketchups consistency for the most part.
This might seem very odd to most of you, and it seemed like a horrible mix to myself at first, but after trying it I was hooked: Mayonnaise. Yes, Mayonnaise.
You can add even more ingredients from here, such as pickled ginger, (which I adore.) Or some of the more expensive, exotic ones; such as seaweed or dried tuna flakes. It might be worth trying if you really like the taste of okonomiyaki.
Here are some extra helpful links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn_vvp4Uj0Q
http://www.tofugu.com/2012/09/24/what-is-okonomiyaki-and-why-is-it-
so-awesome/
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